Servania kayoed Munoz in the final round; eyes Montiel and Darchinyan in a possible World title bout

Genesis Servania showed the World that he can definitely become a World Champion in the future like his Ala Gym stablemates Donnie "Ahas" Nietes and Merlito "Tiger' Sabilio.

Azukal showed that he is ripe for a world title fight after scoring an impressive 12th round technical knockout over former world two-time champion Alexander Munoz at the main event of the Pinoy Pride XXIV, Saturday night at the Solaire Resort and Casino Hotel.

The pride of Bacolod City sent down the Venezuelan twice in their super-bantamweight match.However Munoz always survives.

Servania looked poised to end the fight early in round two when a right hand to the body, followed by a right hand to the chin knocked Munoz down for a count of nine and a half. Munoz got up and was saved by the bell.

There was some drama in the sixth round when Servania sustained a cut on his left eye – perhaps the same cut that opened up against Konosuke Tomiyama in Macau last year.

Servania continued to plow forward, and in the ninth round dropped Munoz once more with a left hook to the body.the 12th round, Servania delivered the final nail on the coffin when he connected a vicious right straight that floored his tiring 35-year-old opponent.

Munoz got up at the count of seven on wobbly legs, but referee Danrex Tapdasan readily waived him off, sparking a wild celebration of the corner of Servania.

Time of stoppage was at the 2:22 mark.

Servania's Record

Servania improved to 24-0 with 10 KOs as he lined himself up for a possible title shot against reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) 122-lbs champion Guillermo Rigondeaux.

After the win, Promoter Michael Aldegeur of ALA Promotions said he wanted to see Servania in other similar tests against former champions.

"We want more fights like this," said Aldegeur. "We started negotiations to bring Fernando Montiel here, we talked about him and Darchinyan before he fought Nonito Donaire. I think these are the fights this guy needs. When you’re young you need to go through fights like these in order to be prepared to fight for a world title."

Junior, whose best weight was at 115 pounds where he beat former title challenger Bert Batawang, was too easy a target against the ropes as Pagara took advantage to pound him along the ropes.

Pagara finally put him down for the count after landing a right hand underneath Junior's right ribcage.

Villanueva struggles

Arthur Villanueva was expected to have an easy night after original opponent Juan Hernandez pulled out two weeks ago after a motorcycle injury. Fernando Aguilar, the man who stepped in on short notice, didn't get the memo.

The Mexico City native Aguilar stayed punch-for-punch with the 25-year-old from Bago City, Philippines, causing Villanueva's cheering squad uneasy moments along the way.

Villanueva admitted afterwards that he was hurt in rounds 4 and 8, but overcame the difficulties to land enough blows to earn the unanimous decision victory. Three judges awarded Villanueva the fight 94-93, 95-92 and 96-91, bringing his record to 25-0 (14 knockouts). Aguilar's record dips to 9-1 (7 KOs).

"It was very hard to adjust in the fight," admitted Villanueva, who says he was disappointed in his performance. He's very strong, his heart is big."

--- with reports from The Ring

Servania kayoed Munoz in the final round; eyes Montiel and Darchinyan in a possible World title bout
Reviewed by Jay-R Bayon-on
on
3/02/2014
Rating: 5